CARSTAR launches Innovation Through Cultivation program
February 9, 2012 by Canadian Underwriter magazine
CARSTAR Automotive Canada Inc. launched its new Innovation Through Cultivation program on Thursday, January 26, 2012 at the company’s corporate office, CARSTAR Vision Park. The program is designed to foster innovation and build on best practices currently in place at CARSTAR stores across the country.
Select CARSTAR Franchise Partners joined together to share their best practices and procedures. These practices and procedures were captured in discussion, and the strategies that prove the most effective through store testing will be included in CARSTAR’s proprietary Quality Systems Program, CQS. The first session of Innovation Through Cultivation focused on best practices for quality control.
“This program works by bringing together select Franchise Partners to collectively share their best practices and procedures from their respective stores,” said Dennis Concordia, Vice President of Human Resources for CARSTAR. “By having these discussions, we can determine what processes are most efficient and begin to implement them at stores across the country.”
Michael Macaluso, Director of Quality Systems for CARSTAR, began the inaugural session by expressing his satisfaction of hosting the session in CARSTAR’s new Technical Centre and CARSTAR University, which was built to give Partners the opportunity to learn and train hands-on.
“Having our Franchise Partners join together to share their practices is an important element of our commitment to serving them the best we can in new and innovative ways,” said Macaluso. “This first Innovation Through Cultivation session is just another stepping stone in our journey to continually improve CARSTAR’s best practices.”
Bill Davidge, Technical Manager for CARSTAR, facilitated the session by discussing the key factors that build upon best practices and store procedures. Davidge brings years of hands-on automotive technical experience to CARSTAR and is an asset in facilitating training programs such as Innovation Through Cultivation.
Wayne Loker of Aviva Canada was the session’s guest speaker. Loker discussed both the positive and negative practices that he has seen within CARSTAR stores. The group of Franchise Partners discussed opportunities for improvement and shared their methods for achieving high levels of quality control.
CARSTAR will be running additional sessions throughout 2012, each focusing on a different topic. Upcoming sessions will include sustainability, ongoing training and employee retention. CARSTAR Franchise Partners will be selected from across the country based on their high performance in these areas and invited to attend the Innovation Though Cultivation sessions.
About CARSTAR Collision Repair Centres
CARSTAR is the largest and fastest growing automotive repair franchise network with over 400 locations in North America. Founded in Hamilton, Ontario, in 1995, CARSTAR Automotive Canada Inc. has grown from eight to over 160 locations throughout 10 provinces. Within Canada, CARSTAR repairs approximately 100,000 vehicles per year with the highest rate of customer satisfaction. Visit www.carstar.ca for details.
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